New Delhi, Jul 21 (PTI) At least six people died due to rain-related incidents in the northeast where floods have damaged train tracks, agricultural land and public utilities, while heavy showers in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu severely disrupted normal life.
In Himachal Pradesh, six houses were swept away due to a cloudburst but authorities said there were no casualties.
All schools and colleges were shut in Kangra, Mandi, and Sirmaur districts on Tuesday in view of a red alert by the meteorological department for heavy rain.
Intermittent rains also forced the authorities to shut down all educational institutions in Theog of Shimla, Salooni of Chamba, and Nirmand of Kullu districts.
The old Hindustan-Tibet road (National Highway 5) was closed for vehicular traffic following landslides at two places in Kinnaur district, officials said.
Heavy rains lashed large parts of Jammu region as rescue teams continued their search for seven persons reported missing in the worst-hit Poonch and Rajouri districts.
At least 23 people have died and seven others are missing in rain-related incidents in Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts since Sunday.
In Assam, one person in Charaideo district died due to the floods, taking the toll in such rain-related deaths to 11.
Several major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, Dikhow, Desang and Dhansiri, were flowing above the danger level in different parts of the state, with some of the water bodies having breached the “extreme flood” level.
Relief and rescue operations were being carried out by multiple agencies, including the Army, NDRF, SDRF and Fire and Emergency Services.
Train services remained affected for the second day as floodwaters inundated tracks in parts of Upper Assam, with the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) cancelling, short-terminating or diverting several trains and also announcing special trains for stranded passengers.
More than 3,10,800 people remained affected in 758 villages in Biswanath, Charaideo, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, Sivasagar and Tinsukia districts.
In worst-hit Sivasagar district, the Dikhow and Desang rivers flowed above the “extreme flood level” in Sivsagar town and Nanglamoraghat, respectively, the ASDMA said.
The Dhansiri River was in “severe flood situation” at Numaligarh in Golaghat district, it added.
Other rivers in spate were the Brahmaputra at Neamatighat (Jorhat) and Buridihing at Khowang (Dibrugarh).
In Nagaland’s Mon district, the toll in the flash floods and landslides triggered by incessant rain rose to nine with the recovery of five more bodies, while four people remain missing as search and rescue operations were underway on Tuesday, a state government report said.
The continuous downpour has disrupted normal life, damaged infrastructure, agricultural land and public utilities, with the authorities warning that the extent of destruction is expected to rise as assessments continue.
According to preliminary reports from district disaster management authorities, the rain fury has impacted at least 7,460 people statewide.
Preliminary assessments indicate that 64 residential houses in 93 villages across 10 districts have been damaged, a report by the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority said.
Fresh floods triggered by incessant rain hit five districts of Arunachal Pradesh in the last 24 hours, even as the ongoing monsoon has affected nearly 1.49 lakh people across the state, officials said.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), fresh flood and other rain-related incidents were reported from Siang, Papum Pare, West Kameng, Kamle and Lower Siang districts, affecting six administrative circles.
Flash floods inundated Kallek village in Kebang circle of Siang district.
In Papum Pare, heavy rains affected Balijan and Tarasso villages in Balijan and Tarasso circles, while Lish village in Dirang circle of West Kameng, Yada village in Raga circle of Kamle and Jipu village in Likabali circle of Lower Siang also reported rain-related damage.
In Uttarakhand, the Char Dham Yatra, which had been temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure due to incessant rains and landslides, resumed on Tuesday after a review of travel routes by authorities.
The Dehradun-Mussoorie road, which had been closed after being damaged in the rains, was reopened for light vehicles. PTI
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)
Comments are closed.